Imagine that you are the director of ‘Request Stop’ ; think of two different interpretations, and give advice to the actress as to how to play the main role.

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James Rundle, 11.3T

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Request Stop – By Harold Pinter

G.C.S.E 20th Century Drama Coursework.

Imagine that you are the director of ‘Request Stop’ ; think of two different interpretations, and give advice to the actress as to how to play the main role.

Request Stop is a short sketch written by Harold Pinter, a political poet, author, and playwright. This particular piece was written in 1953. A typical bus queue of the period would have been much the same as today, quiet and fairly antisocial, with people hiding behind broadsheets and magazines. The modern bus queue is boring. Nobody talks, except maybe for friends who are waiting, and everybody seems to not want to be there.

        The woman at the bus stop is somewhat of a mystery. There are a great many things that she could be. She could be an entertainer, livening up a bus queue by talking to everyone and anyone (even though she talks to one man, the whole queue is hearing her). She seems fun, lively, and talkative with her confident outbursts and taking offence at the smallest thing, then making a scene about it.

        Taking the idea that she is an entertainer, how would be advise the actress as to how to play the role? Since our idea is that she is a street entertainer, her clothing could be colourful, even clown-like. Lots of bright colours could be used, and maybe make up, to create the effect of a clown. Her appearance would certainly be well kept, with ironed, clean clothes and clean hair, unless she wears a wig. The props she carries would depend on why she is there. There are a number of possibilities, including a television feature on why bus queues are so boring, or why people are so arrogant in general, using a bus queue as a living example. In this case, her props may include a microphone, or a cameraman. Another possibility for her presence is that this is an entertainment for charity, in which case she would be carrying a tub or collection box for donations. The actress would have to play with a lot of confidence – even from the text it seems as if the character has a lot of energy about her, and the attitude given off is that she is in control of the situation. She knows how the people are going to respond, and it seems as if she has done this before, “All I’ve got to do, is report you, and you’d be standing in the dock in no time. One of my best friends is a plain clothes detective.”

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        In her speech, the actress would have to use a comical method of speaking. Changing tones of voice would be good, and perhaps she could stretch out certain words, “Who DO you think YOU are?” Her speech would be fast paced, and the pauses would be brief, so as not to interrupt her momentum. Her tone of voice and the manner in which she speaks would be supercilious, that is to say, she would be superior, above everything. She would make the character’s repetition more evident, “Huh, I know your sort,” and “They’re putting your sort inside every day of ...

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